A/N: Okay, I know there are probably some of you who wanted to get into the villain raid during this chapter.

...Will it happen? Who knows?

Oh wait, I do! And you can too, if you get to reading!

P.S. If you liked the cover art from the last two weeks, you can still check them out on my Instagram account. You'll also be able to make out everyone in Team RWBY's hero names/aliases...

A Chat About The Heart

The sun was high overhead, and once again, the hero course students of UA were training their bodies harder than they had once thought possible. Kurai had spent his morning trading blows with Yang, and now he stood atop the hill that Pixie Bob had set aside for him, deep in meditation.

It was nothing less than difficult to keep his entire focus on the sensation of pushing his energy outward in every direction without actually blasting something, not to mention adapting his other senses to understand what his quirk was telling him in the absence of his eyes. Moving just made it that much harder to keep the outflow of energy going, but he knew that he was going to have to start trying soon, or else there was no point to learning such a technique if it would paralyze as much as blind him.

To that end, Kurai began to practice his basic forms, the core of his fighting maneuvers that had been drilled into him by his instructor since he was four years old. The patterns were like second nature to him after so long, and with a limited space to move around in, it was the best way for him to get used to using the new technique to 'see' whilst in motion.

He moved slowly at first, focusing on practicing techniques that would hypothetically involve his opponent rushing at him, which would only require small, precise movements from him at just the right moment. He knew that- for the time being, at least- it would not be possible for him to perform more complex moves without breaking his concentration. Gotta focus on what I can do, for now, he thought as he jerked his head to the side in order to avoid an imaginary enemy fist, followed by lightning-fast punch to his 'opponents' kidney.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, and he was getting somewhat comfortable with moving in short bursts, he tried to charge up a Kamehameha, but found that he was not able to do so. The hell? He thought with a frown as he stood up straight, his legs trembling with exhaustion. Why can't I make it? No matter how hard he tried, he could only conjure a small bolt of energy between his palms, nothing like the powerful laser inspired by anime heroes of old.

He wasn't out of energy, not by a long shot, even if his body was exhausted from the intense workouts over the last couple of days. He just couldn't seem to get the energon to condense into the form that he wanted, no matter how much power he exuded. This is weird, he thought with traces of worry. I wasn't having this problem yesterday… Okay, before you panic and call your bedridden brother, think, Kurai. What's keeping you from letting loose?

He forced his body to relax as best as he could for a few moments, keeping his breathing deep and even as he mentally checked off various factors that could have been impeding his abilities. Still have plenty of energy in my body, so that's not it, he began. Headache's getting annoying, but not enough to throw me off… I'm not sick, and the sleep meds don't have any negative effects on my quirk… I'm putting out enough energy to power a Final Flash, but I can't even- oh.

He ceased the constant, indiscriminate outflow of energon that was coming from his body and sat down, hard. Without his quirk to help keep him upright, his body was barely capable of supporting itself, but he needed to be sure of his theory. It was a most disconcerting feeling, being able to have a nearly omniscient view of one's surroundings, followed by a sudden plunge into total darkness.

Fortunately, he did not have to wonder in the darkness for long. The moment that he summoned the energy to create a Rasengan in his right hand, the yellow orb materialized almost instantly, somewhat to his chagrin. Great, so I can see in every direction, but mega-lasers are a no-no, and until I get a handle on being able to move without using my eyes, I can't really fight at close range, he thought as he allowed the energy to dissipate. He would have wondered if Akarui hadn't pulled a giant prank on him, if not for the consequences involved. Of course there's no easy path to power, he sighed quietly.

From what he could tell, he would be able to conjure no more than one or two bolts of energy at a time, hardly the firepower that he was used to packing. I don't see this technique doing me much good in a head-to-head fight, he thought with another frown. Maybe if I were trying to feel out for an ambush? I'll have to keep practicing, I suppose- Akarui wouldn't have altered my quirk to take this turn unless he had a good reason. I just hope I can figure out what it is without having to ask him.

Resigning himself to another few hours of intense work and soreness, Kurai got to his feet and willed his quirk's newest manifestation to activate once again.

Midoriya grunted with satisfaction as he finally landed a solid hit on Blake for the first time since he had been assigned as her punching bag the previous day. The raven-haired girl let out a gasp of surprise as she was sent sprawling in the dirt, though she was quick to get back on her feet. She's got reflexes like a cat, the boy thought as he paused in his movements, breathing heavily. Add that to her quirk, and it's no wonder that I couldn't hit her.

It had taken him puzzling until that morning for him to figure out what her power was. Yesterday, every time that he tried to hit Blake, she had somehow not been where he last saw her, and was instead delivering a strike of her own to his side or back. After being duped a number of times, he managed to predict where she would actually be striking from, and was thus able to defend himself. However, he was still unable to figure out how to land an actual attack, as she kept the truth of her quirk a secret, despite his best attempts to ferret it out of her.

Over the course of their sparring matches, he realized that he had been operating on the assumption that she could only be in one place at a time- that she must be using speed like Ruby, or warping over short distances to confuse and outmaneuver him. It wasn't until he managed to discard that preconceived notion that he began to have an idea of what her quirk did.

"How'd you figure it out?" Blake asked as she folded her arms and gazed at him with her unflinching golden eyes.

"I noticed that even if I attacked in the same second that you disappeared to show up behind me, you were still somehow one step ahead of my movements," he answered as he lowered his guard, realizing that they were taking a break. "If you were just teleporting, I'd be able to keep up with my Full Cowling, but you were ahead of me every single time. The only way you could do that is if you were in two places at once." Grinning slightly at her, he added, "You have a duplication quirk, right?"

"Yes and no," she answered, her eyes glowing slightly in the shade of the trees for a brief second. Like mist gathering over a pond, a shadow appeared next to Blake, quickly gaining color and solidity until it was perfect replica of the girl herself.

Less than a second after that, the original girl dissolved into dark wisps, leaving the clone and a surprised-looking Midoriya under the trees. Seeing his intrigue, Blake smiled slightly and said, "I'm the real one. My quirk, 'Shadow', allows me to leave behind an afterimage when I activate it. Normally I'm moving when the clone is being left behind, so people don't notice me doing it."

"So I was always attacking your afterimage," Midoriya murmured. "There was nothing for me to actually hit."

"Exactly," Blake nodded. "My quirk in its basest form doesn't let me do much in the way of fighting. It's a helpful distraction, but I can't rely on it to win the battle for me the way that some people do. What's worse for those people is that fighters like me can take advantage of their over-reliance on their powers."

"People like me, you mean," Midoriya said as he looked at his scarred hand. The marks on his fingers reminded him constantly that there was a severe risk to overusing his power, like he had when he fought against his classmates in the Sport's Festival. However, now that he thought about it, there had been a time when he had planned to become a hero using only his wits, and nothing else.

That seems like it was a lifetime ago, now, he thought as he clenched his fist. I have all this knowledge from when I was quirkless in my head, and that's good; but I guess I have a tendency to rely on one or the other- not both at the same time. He wondered if Mister Aizawa had noticed this, and had paired him up with Blake in order to try and get him to realize the same. Probably.

"Hey, Midoriya," Kurai said as he attempted to hand his friend a pair of tongs that could be used for turning the beef chunks that they were grilling for stew. However, his aim was a little off, due to his eyes still recovering from his training earlier in the day, and he nearly poked the other student in the face.

"Yeah?" Izuku asked as he grabbed the tool right before it came into contact with his cheek. "Something on your mind?"

"Just wondering where you went yesterday during dinner," Kurai answered as he let go. "I almost ate your stuff, you were gone so long."

"Oh!" the green-haired boy replied as he set down his tools, having finished setting up the fireplace for the meat to cook. "I was, uh… you remember Kota?"

"The kid that punched you in the balls?" Kurai answered in a dry tone. "Kinda hard to forget someone that leaves a first impression like that."

"Yeah…" Midoriya winced before reaching out and putting a steadying hand on his friend's shoulder to keep him from tripping over a stray wood chunk.

"Thanks," Kurai apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Midoriya answered. "But back to Kota… I noticed him leaving just as we were all getting started with our food last night. He was headed somewhere into the woods, so I decided to follow him and make sure that he would be okay on his own, but Rose wound up spotting me, and she ended tagging along when I explained what I was doing. She even brought some food for him, since it seemed like he was gonna miss out on dinner."

Oh man, Uraraka is not gonna like that, Kurai thought, hoping that he was keeping his face neutral enough not to give away his concern. For some absurd reason, it felt harder to keep control of his facial features with his eyesight so impaired as it was.

Apparently he needn't have worried, because Midoriya went on to say, "We found him at some kind of hideout on one of the smaller mountaintops. We tried to talk to him, see if we could start things over with a clean slate, but he seemed to hate us even more just for being there."

"So he wasn't just in a bad mood, or throwing a tantrum the first day?" Kurai muttered. What happened to make such a little kid so resentful? Does he have issues with sharing his family with strangers, or something?

"No, and I wish I knew why," Midoriya sighed heavily.

"You ever have somebody tell you that you've got a pretty big savior complex, even for a guy trying to become a hero?" Kurai chuckled, surprising his friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just starting to notice that you go out of your way specifically to help people that don't want it," Kurai answered. Lifting one finger for each person that he named, he went on to say, "You saved Bakugo, who probably hates you more than more than he likes blowing things up. You helped Todoroki in the Sport's Festival, and you went to rescue our class rep when he got in over his head, despite his wishes. You even tried to save David Shield, who by your own account, told you to get away and save yourself. And of course, we can't forget that you saved All Might not once now, but twice, and he's probably the last person that anyone would think would need saving."

"I'm still wondering what you're trying to get at…" Midoriya said slowly.

"I'm not gonna bother telling you to leave this kid alone," Kurai began. "Just remember that there's always the right time and place. Meddling where we don't have to may be the essence of heroism, but we should still remember that there's a time where we just need to step back and be patient. Sometimes it's not even us that will need to do the saving- we just have to keep an eye on the person that needs saving while we wait for the person that can get the job done right."

"Huh," the other boy mused as he started to work with a lighter that he had borrowed from Yaoyorozu. "Who taught you that?"

"My dad," Kurai answered. "He may not be a pro hero, but he's definitely helped to save his fair share of all kinds of people. There's been more than one case where he's had to take stock of what's going on before calling in the right hero agency for backup, so I imagine that he's got experience with this kind of stuff."

"Right, of course," Midoriya grinned. "It's cool that you've got a dad that you can look up to like you do."

Kurai cocked his head at his friend's silhouette, ready to ask him a question before he realized how insensitive it was, and quickly reversed his thoughts back toward the subject of his own father. "Yeah," he said quickly. "I have a lot of good role models in my life to look up to, but my father is definitely at the top of my list of personal heroes."

Before Midoriya could make another reply, Iida ran up to the two of them and shouted, "Your hands aren't moving! We're never gonna make the best stew in the world if you two just keep yammering on!"

"Dude, Midoriya has just been building a fire, and I can't see," Kurai said as he turned toward the sound of his old friend's voice while holding up his empty hands. "I'm as likely to cut off my fingers as slice a potato if I'm let anywhere near the cooking tools, and I fell over trying to carry the wood earlier. What exactly am I supposed to do right now?"

"Ah, right," Iida said, sounding apologetic. "Sorry, Kurai. I had forgotten about your quirk's newest side effect."

"Eh, I'll figure something out," he shrugged as he waved the matter aside, nearly slapping Midoriya in the process. "My eyesight should be back to normal by the time it's dark out."

"Good, then you can be in charge of cleaning the dishes after dinner!" Iida declared. "Until then, try not to distract our classmates from their jobs!" With that, he was gone to resume his work as a potato peeler.

"He's lucky I can't see where he went," Kurai growled under his breath. "I've got half a mind to start dismantling those electric scooter parts that he calls legs."

"Sounds like you two are back to normal," Midoriya laughed, bringing a slight smile to his friend's face.

"Not quite, but I don't wanna punch him every time that I see him, either," Kurai said quietly. "You could say that we're friends again, but underneath it all, we're still a bit mad at each other."

"Why?" Midoriya groaned. "Are you still hung up on Hosu?"

"Not really," Kurai answered with a negative shake of his head. "I think it's more what we said to each other afterward that's still got us feeling kinda sore about it. And honestly, I don't know if we'll ever have the same friendship that we did before."

"Probably not," Midoriya said after a quiet stretch. "But I hope that someday you'll be even better friends than you were before."

"Also unlikely," Kurai snorted. Before his friend could berate him, however, he added, "But you're not the only one that hopes so, Midoriya. You're not the only one that hopes for a better future."

Once dinner had been consumed, and all of the dishes had been cleaned, the Pussycats gathered the two classes together- minus the students that had extra lessons with Aizawa and Vlad- for what promised to be a more fun activity. Mina in particular was mad about being taken away, as she had wanted to pair up with Kurai for the nighttime event, but their teacher's will was like steel, and she was led away along with Kirishima, Sato, and Kaminari.

Once they were gone, Pixie Bob, Mandalay, and Tiger explained the rules of the game that was about to take place. In a competition that would pit Class A against Class B, the second group would take up positions in a path that looped through the forest and back to the cabin, and use their quirks in whatever creative way that they could to scare their rivals from Class A. The goal for the first class was to reach Ragdoll in pairs at the halfway point on the path, where there would be a table with papers holding their names, and then return to the cabin with their names in hand. After the first round, the two classes would switch roles.

According to Tiger, the winners would be the classmates that could, 'Make the most people piss their pants!'

The pairs would be decided at random by drawing numbered slips, and even Ruby and her friends were going to be in on the fun, much to the dismay of one Weiss Schnee.

"Too bad we're not the ones scaring the others, first," Midoriya said in an aside to Blake, who looked askance at him. Seeing this, he added, "Your quirk would be ideal for scaring people in the dark."

"You know it, dude," Yang grinned at him. "She moves like a ninja, too. I can't wait for it to be our turn to scare the crap out of the other guys!"

"After going to the school haunted house that Akarui set up last year, I doubt that anything Class B throws at us is gonna get me," Kurai said with a shudder that drew the attention of his friends. "Eugh…"

"What did your brother do?" Asui asked from next to Uraraka, who looked a little nervous already.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Kurai replied as he drew a number out of Pixie Bob's paw, wary of any sudden moves that the unpredictable heroine might try now that Aizawa was out of sight. Still not sure that I trust her…

"Now I really wanna know," Yang said with a mischievous grin as he walked past her. "And I've got ways of making you talk, buster."

"If those methods are as effective as your fighting style, then I think my secrets are safe," Kurai snickered, causing Yang's eyes to narrow as her smile changed to a more sinister one. Seeing this, he asked, "What? You think I'm gonna be frightened by that? I've seen scarier smiles from B-list anime villains."

"Umm… Hikari?" Ruby said nervously as she poked his shoulder. "You should stop talking. Yang is super scary when she's given a challenge."

"On a scale of one to a grade schooler armed with a belt full of laughing gas grenades that he built himself out of scratch, how scary can she be?" he deadpanned.

"…What?"

"Exactly."

Kurai wound up being paired with Blake for the 'Test of Courage', as it had been dubbed. They were set to go behind Jiro and Hagakure, while the unlikely pairing of Ruby and Uraraka would be sent in after them. The lead group was Shoji and Tokoyami, and each pairing would be sent in two-minute intervals. Last to go in would be Midoriya and Sero, and after they had completed the trial, the two classes would switch places.

As class B dispersed into the woods, Kurai took a long look at Uraraka's moping expression before groaning inwardly and resigning himself to what he knew he should do. Walking quickly before his courage deserted him, he approached her and asked, "Hey, can we talk?"

"Uh…? Sure?" the rosy-cheeked girl said as they stepped away from the main group. Once they were relatively out of earshot, she asked, "What's up? I guess it's not a big secret that I'm kind of chicken when it comes to this stuff, but I'll be okay, really."

"No, this has nothing to do with the test," he said with a negative motion of his hand. Glancing around once more to make sure that they had privacy, he sighed deeply before saying, "I'm not very good at this stuff, but you're friends with Mina, and since she isn't here for you right now, I figured that I should probably try to say something in her place."

"Hikari, what are you talking about?" Uraraka asked him, looking more confused than ever. "What's Mina got to do with this?"

"…Okay, you're right, she shouldn't have anything to do with this," Kurai sighed heavily, adding even more confusion to the girl's face. Seeing this, he quickly added, "I should say this as your friend, not on behalf of my girlfriend- I mean, we are friends, right?"

"Yeah, totally!" Uraraka said with a cheerful smile that seemed more in keeping with her usual self. "Sorry if that wasn't clear before now!"

"It was, I'm just a socially inept moron," Kurai chuckled, though he grew serious again, causing Uraraka's face to sober up. "But there's something that I've had on my mind for a while now, and I think it's time that I give it voice, especially after seeing how you've acted around Midoriya the last few days."

"Uh…?" Uraraka said blankly, her face reddening rapidly. "Wha-? Deku? What's he-?"

"You look at him the same way that Mina looks at me when you think he isn't looking," Kurai said quietly. "I'm not very aware of other people, granted, but even I can pick up on a few things if I see it enough- which is saying something, considering that I haven't been able to actually see for half the day."

"No way!" Uraraka started to sputter, but Kurai placed a finger over his lips to indicate that he didn't want raised voices making a scene. Seeing this, she continued in a lower tone, "That's not it at all!"

"If that's true, why does it bother you so much that Midoriya has been spending all that time training with Belladonna, or that he made friends with Rose so fast?" Kurai countered, causing her to redden further. "Why does your face always light up when he comes in the room, and why do you always get embarrassed when Mina teases you about him, instead of getting mad?"

"I… I, uh…"

"Mostly I just wanna know why you keep it hidden from him," Kurai said as he folded his arms. "You're torturing yourself needlessly over the guy."

"…You don't get it," Uraraka said in a small voice. "I can't."

"You're right, I don't get it," Kurai agreed with a nod. "That's why I'm asking you to explain it to me."

Uraraka lifted her reddened face to look at him straight on and say, "Even if… Even if what you're saying is true, I couldn't do anything about it. Deku is giving everything that he has into becoming a hero- he doesn't have time for anything else. I can't be the one to take him away from that. I won't become the reason that he fails to reach his full potential as a hero."

Kurai paused, impressed by the resolve in her voice, and the reasoning that she had laid out. She's a lot more considerate of him than I gave her credit for, he thought guiltily. Here I was thinking that she was just too shy to say anything. However…

His mind flashed back to his conversation with All Might about what the future might hold for him and Izuku in regards to All For One, and the responsibility that he had asked them to bear, becoming the next Symbols of Peace for the world. I know I would learn to do it on my own, he thought with the ghost of a smile on his face. But even if she doesn't know about it all… Just having Mina in my corner makes facing all of that so much easier. It makes challenging the darkness out there so much more worth it when you have someone in your heart worth fighting for.

"You're a good friend, Uraraka," he finally said out loud. "And whether or not you realize it, you're Midoriya's best friend in the world. You took a name that stung him every time that he'd ever heard it called, and made it into something that makes him smile. You made a name for him that will make so many people smile, when they hear that the hero 'Deku' has come to rescue them." Giving the girl another smile, he added, "No one else will ever be able to give him that kind of gift, you know. And for the record, Mina and I are still giving it our all to become the best heroes that we can be, in spite of- and more importantly, because of- our relationship with each other. We push each other to be better."

Standing up straight from the tree that he had been leaning against, he then shrugged and said, "I know that you two are very different from us, but I happen to think that's a good thing. Just don't keep lying to yourself about how you feel, okay? It won't help either of you in the long run."

"Wait, Hikari," Uraraka said before he could go.

"Hmm?" he asked as he turned around, and was immediately surprised to see that she was bowing to him from her waist. "Whoa, what?"

"Thank you for looking out for me," she said as she straightened up with a contented smile on her face. "And thanks for looking out for Deku, too. You're a good friend."

"Mina's influence," he half-joked.

"Speaking of her, how did you know?" she asked him, causing him to pause with a quizzical smile fixated on his face. "How did you know that being with her would make things better for you, instead of just hurtful and confusing?"

Kurai's face sobered up as he finished turning back around to fully face his friend and answer, "I didn't. I couldn't have known. I kept trying to tell myself that it was a bad idea, even. But I guess… You can't help your heart longing for a place to belong."

To his surprise, Uraraka grinned more brightly at him and said, "Wow, Hikari. I had no idea you could speak so well!"

"Oh, er…" he stammered, his mind finally catching up with everything that he had just been saying. It set his face to a deep crimson red, causing him to slap himself and grumble under his breath, "Ach, you idiot! Why can't you be like you were in middle school and mind your own damn business?! Now you sound like a tool!"

"No, Hikari," Uraraka said, still sounding happy, which caused him to look at her from between his cracked fingers. "It took guts to say what you did. I'm glad that you spoke your mind, I really am. It's helped clear up a few things for me."

"It has?" he asked, stupefied. "I made sense?"

"Yeah-huh," she nodded rapidly. "You're right, Deku and I aren't like you and Mina. But that doesn't mean that I can't support him in my own way; so that's what I'm gonna do." Putting a fist over her left breast, she added, "I know what's in my heart, and what I need to do with it."

"That is…?" he repeated slowly, unsure of what she was planning to do now.

"You'll see," she grinned at him. "By the way, I meant what I said. I think you're a better person than you used to be because of Mina. I don't think that the old you would have made peace with Iida like you did."

"…Probably not," Kurai admitted reluctantly. "Thanks for hearing me out, Uraraka."

"Thanks again for talking," she replied as they stepped away from the trees to go rejoin their classmates. "Now here's to hoping I can get through this forest without passing out, huh?"

"Rely on Rose," Kurai told her, causing the girl to glance sideways at him. "We all saw her in action on the first day, remember? She'll keep you safe if you let her."

"…Maybe," Uraraka said reluctantly.

Probably as good as we're gonna get for now, he thought with a wry grin.

"What were you guys talking about?" Midoriya asked as they came to a stop. "You were gone for a little while- three groups have already gone in."

"Sorry about that," Kurai began, but Uraraka quickly cut him off.

"It was my fault, really," she said as she bowed toward Ruby, who was startled by the sudden formality. "Rose, I realize that I haven't been the most hospitable toward you since you came here. I'm very sorry for that."

"Oh, uh…" Ruby said as she scratched at the back of her head uncertainly. "That's okay! No big…"

"It's not okay," Uraraka said as she straightened up to look their new classmate in the eyes. "I was being selfish because I wanted to keep the friends that I've made at UA to myself, but now I know that's wrong. You and your teammates aren't outsiders that I should be guarding against- you're our new friends that I need to be good to." Reaching out her hand towards a befuddled-looking Ruby, she added, "Can we start over, Rose? I promise to be a better sport from now on."

"Oh, sure!" Ruby said as she accepted the handshake. The initial grip was a little awkward since Uraraka had to keep at least one of her finger pads from touching the other girl, or else she would start to float away, but after a couple of seconds, they managed to have a solid grasp on one another. "Here's to new friends!"

"Hear hear!" Uraraka smiled back at the younger girl, new warmth in the expression. "Welcome to UA, Rose."

"Glad to be here, Uraraka!"

Midoriya and Blake both turned to look at Kurai with questions on their faces, who shrugged and said, "You got me. I'm still not entirely sure of what I just said."

"What did you say to her?"

"Hey look, Belladonna, it's our turn to go up!" Kurai said as he grabbed his partner's wrist and pulled her toward a beckoning Pixie Bob and Tiger, leaving behind a very puzzled Midoriya.

The air was heavy with potential as Dabi and the others crept into the trees, moving in pairs or as single units. All it's gonna take is a spark to get this party started, he thought as his burnt skin twisted into the grotesque semblance of a smile while his fingers traced the damp bark of a tree as he walked past it.

"Is it time?" Cinder asked as her golden eye glowed like an ember in the dark.

Moonfish was practically drooling while Muscular popped his neck and donned his mask. Toga was giggling as she admired the razor-sharp properties of her new equipment. Twice was busy confusing Compress with multiple conversations, and Magne was speaking in lowered tones with Spinner, even as Mustard finished loading his revolver. All of them were itching to get some action, and Dabi knew that if he didn't give the order soon, they'd probably start a scene on their own.

Then again, he knew exactly how they felt.

The tree that he had touched instantly burst into azure flames, annihilating the moisture that he had felt, and setting fire to several of its brothers in proximity. Now that we have the spark going, let's burn this society to ash, he thought as he fixated his smile on Cinder, whose own face bore amusement.

"It's time."

Mataras: So, we technically got a start on the attack.

Kai: That's a stretch, and you know it.

Mataras: Sue me for putting in a feel-good chapter. You're gonna be wishing we had more of those before long.

Deku: Uh... What's that supposed to mean?

Mataras: Exactly what I said.

Kai: I'm just a little disappointed that we didn't get a direct confession from Uraraka to Midoriya.

Deku: Wha-? Where'd that come from?! Aren't you worried about the villain attack that's about to happen?!

Kai: Hey, I'd just like to see how Mataras is gonna engineer that particular conversation. The attack is part of the original story, it'll be fine.

Mataras: Famous last words.

Kai: What was that?

Mataras: Nothing- just that it's time for us to get a move on. Hope our readers enjoyed the chapter, see you for the next one!

Deku: No seriously, what'd you just say?!

Mataras: I said... Next time- Never Regret

Kai: Stop dodging the question!

Mataras: Go Beyond!

Deku: Wait, Hikari's not about to die already, is he?! Isn't it too early for that?!

Mataras: Plus Ultra!

Kai: You ducking out like that isn't plus ultra, at all!

Mataras: You made me do the exit on my own!

Kai: Nobody made you do anything!

Next time on Your Hero Academia: Survival...

Back at the camp, Mina suddenly shivered, goosebumps breaking out on her skin as she rubbed her arms to try and warm back up. Kirishima saw this, and moved away from where he had been talking with Iida in order to approach her.

"Hey," he said with a concerned frown as he sat next to her. "You okay?"

"I… I dunno," she replied as she placed a hand over her heart, almost unconsciously. "I've never felt like this before, but…" She hesitated, unsure if what she was going to say was foolish or not.

"But what?" her friend prompted gently.

She looked him in the eye and whispered, "Kirishima… I feel like someone just walked on my grave."